Rose has told several confidantes that he is worried that the Bulls will start to let the team hit the skids by allowing key players to leave via free agency, forcing him to go through a rebuilding program that he wants no part of.

“Derrick is worried that the Bulls are going to lose what they have,” said a league source. “He doesn’t want to go through rebuilding.”

The Bulls stand to lose Luol Deng in free agency next summer, and they could lose Carlos Boozer after that. Rose has legitimate reasons to be concerned. But what would you do if you were in the Bulls’ position?

Until Rose comes back and is on the court consistently, would you spend extra money to keep the team together? Or would you wait to see what happens and then make moves? I don’t think you can count on them as a title contender this year or next, so it’s probably better for them to wait to make their big moves. Rose needs to have confidence that his front office will handle the situation well and keep fielding a competitive team. I think they will.